A final call on the future course of action will be taken at the general body meeting to be held here on Monday.

Express News Service

BHUBANESWAR: Rice millers registered with the state for custom-milling of paddy procured under minimum support price (MSP) have decided to suspend further milling till the government comes out with a firm commitment to meet their demands.

Presidents and secretaries of rice millers of 30 districts and functionaries of All Odisha Rice Millers’ Association (AORMA) met here on Sunday and discussed all issues pending before the government. A final call on the future course of action will be taken at the general body meeting to be held here on Monday.

The AORMA has been seeking revision of the custom-milling charges which have remained unchanged for more than two decades. The millers are now getting of Rs 20 for milling a quintal of paddy. The association has demanded that it should be enhanced to Rs 100 per quintal, general secretary Laxminarayan Deepak Ranjan Das said.

He said all the states have revised the milling charges. The neighbouring Chhattisgarh government is paying Rs 80 per quintal for milling of paddy. “The issue was recently discussed at a high-level meeting chaired by deputy chief minister Kanak Vardhan Singh Deo in the presence of Food Supplies and Consumer Welfare minister Krushna Chandra Patra and Cooperation Minister Pradeep Bal Samanta. We were assured that the government will take a considered view on the demands and convey its decision to the association. We are still waiting for the decision even as the procurement of rabi paddy has been completed on June 30,” Das said.

Das said another prime demand of the association is enhancement of custody maintenance charges for paddy and rice. The rice millers get Rs 7.20 to store a quintal of paddy or rice for a year when they are facing acute shortage of storage space. “We have requested the state government to pay the rent on par with that the government is paying to the Warehouse Corporation. But, the government is still non-committal,” he said.

The other problems faced by the millers are the non-lifting of rice by the government on a daily basis and the harassment meted out to them by FCI officials during receipt of custom-milled rice.

Published Date: July 7, 2025